Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Approaches To Learning In A Classroom Environment: Observational & Experiential, Raj Kanwar Singh

Masters Theses

"Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has established a set of criteria that requires engineering graduates to be able to effectively communicate, work in teams with ethics and professionalism understanding the contemporary issues. There are different approaches for teaching and learning these skills, two of which are discussed in this thesis. The intention of this research is to understand the impact of observational and experiential learning on team and individual performance"--Abstract, page iv.

Quantifying The Desired Degree Of Supply Chain Flexibility, Poorna Marappa

Masters Theses

"The dynamic nature of today's market drives the need for flexibility in supply chains. The ever-growing need for and importance of flexibility in supply chains has motivated researchers to develop frameworks to achieve supply chain flexibility. Much of the research on supply chain flexibility focuses on drivers of the need for flexibility and classification of supply chain flexibility. Existing frameworks for determining the desired degree of flexibility in supply chains give an overview methodology; however, a comprehensive framework is absent. This research proposes a comprehensive framework to quantify the desired degree of flexibility in supply chains and accordingly determine its …

Wireless Mote-Based In-Process Diagnostics Using Hand-Held Tools In Network Enabled Manufacturing Environments, Reghu Anguswamy

Masters Theses

"When complex manufacturing systems are considered, post process inspection can be a very time consuming and costly. In addition, no inspection data is typically collected unless a major problem is encountered. Real-time monitoring of the manufacturing processes and verification of its product quality are two important factors to reduce the manufacturing lead time and to ensure safety and quality.

In this thesis, a diagnostics and root-cause analysis scheme with a single channel wireless routing protocol for real-time monitoring of process quality of pull-type fastening operations is first presented. The overall architecture has been implemented on a Huck45 pull-type tool, which …

Development Of Integrated Process Simulation System Model For Spent Fuel Treatment Facility Design, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The major objectives will lead to the creation of a framework that combines all the strengths of AMUSE’s complicated calculations, well-established commercial system process package, and ISOPro’s flexible parameter optimization modules. Development of the process simulation code can be done using the solvent extraction process at Argonne National Laboratory in collaboration with the research team from the Mechanical Engineering Department at UNLV.

Research accomplishments:

• Completed final version of the ISOPro User Manual associated with summarized ISOPro source codes.

• Redesigned and completed use case and design class diagrams (DCD) of the ISOPro package using ArgoUML.

• Improved ISOPro system …

Improving Airline Schedule Reliability Using A Strategic Multi-Objective Runway Slot Assignment Search Heuristic, Florian Hafner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Improving the predictability of airline schedules in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been a constant endeavor, particularly as system delays grow with ever-increasing demand. Airline schedules need to be resistant to perturbations in the system including Ground Delay Programs (GDPs) and inclement weather. The strategic search heuristic proposed in this dissertation significantly improves airline schedule reliability by assigning airport departure and arrival slots to each flight in the schedule across a network of airports. This is performed using a multi-objective optimization approach that is primarily based on historical flight and taxi times but also includes certain airline, airport, and …

Optimizing The Level Of Customization For Products In Mass Customization Systems, Sami Spahi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mass customization (MC) was developed to capitalize on the combined benefits of economies of scale and economies of scope. Balancing the tradeoffs involved in an MC system warrants the determination of the degree or the extent of customization. Most of the literature views the degree of customization as how early or how far the customer is integrated in the production cycle, which is defined as the order decoupling point. In this study we are addressing the degree of customization from a product structural perspective. There are two objectives in this research. The first is to develop a unit of measurement …

Agent-Based Modeling And Possible Implications On Management And Engineering Management, Ipek Bozkurt, Jose J. Padilla, Andres A. Sousa-Poza

VMASC Publications

Engineering Management (EM) is a discipline that takes pride in bridging two major fields, namely engineering and management. It is clear from any basic research conducted within this field that both engineering and management tools and paradigms need to be used jointly. A mixture that encompasses quantitative and qualitative research, as well as theoretical and empirical research is found in literature, making Engineering Management, as a discipline, very complex in nature. As this complexity evolves, so should the tools of the craft. It is interesting, however, to see that Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) as a tool or as a topic of …

Effects Of Leader Relationship Quality (Lmx), Supervisor Support, And Upward Influence In National Science Foundation Industry /University Cooperative Research Centers, Janet L. Bryant

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) is a type of partnership between industries and universities supported by the National Science Foundation. These partnerships enable the transfer of leading-edge technology developed in universities to industrial firms. Leadership plays a powerful role in the success of these research partnerships by creating an environment that is conducive to innovation. Directors of I/UCRCs must be able to successfully lead upward, that is, develop and maintain strong relationships with the university administrators to whom they report, to obtain the necessary support to sustain the center and foster innovation. This study uses leader-member exchange (LMX) theory …

E-Quality Control: A Support Vector Machines Approach, Kalyan Reddy Aleti

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The web-enabled quality control process presents many benefits to industry, such as universal access, remote control capability, and integration of production equipment into information networks for improved efficiency. This capability has a great potential, since engineers can access and control the equipment anytime, anywhere as the design stages evolve. In this context, this work uses innovative methods in remote part tracking and quality control with the aid of the modern equipment and application of Support Vector machine learning approach to predict the outcome of the quality control process. The classifier equations are built on the data obtained from the experiments …

Measuring Agility Of Organizations - A Comprehensive Agility Measurement Tool (Camt), Ameya S. Erande, Alok K. Verma

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Since "Agility" is ability to respond to unpredictable changes with quick response and profitability, it is not industry specific. This "not industry specific" nature of agility makes it hard to assess and measure it on a fixed scale. Measurement of agility of an enterprise has been a major topic of research since inception of agility in 1991. Though some methods have been developed to measure agility, they mainly remain tied to manufacturing industry. As agility is present in all the industries, comprehensive tool to measure it is a necessity in order to determine responsiveness of an enterprise to external turbulences. …

Information Presentation On Mobile Device For Plant Operations, Raghavendra Rao Polakonda

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Process control and maintenance systems have been used in the petrochemical and refining industry for long time for improving operator performance and workforce efficiency. However, there is a need to integrate these systems with current technological innovations in a systematic and meaningful manner. Advances in mobile computing, sensor technologies, software algorithms, and computational methods provide the possibility for easy access to information anytime-anywhere. The issues associated with retrieving and reviewing this information directly affects the ability to make timely and quality decisions in high stakes environments like a petrochemical plant where time critical decisions are involved. This research investigates the …

Implementation Of Simulation For Network Service Delivery Point Capacity Analysis, Tiffany Jill Harper

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

As businesses consolidate and modernize their operations, the impact on their network and computing infrastructure is a major consideration. In this thesis, discrete event simulation is used to show how implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can impact network performance and ultimately affect end-users. More specifically, the model simulates the flow of data packets across a network, through a Service Delivery Point (SDP), which is comprised of routers, switches, and firewalls that connect a Local Area Network to a Wide Area Network.

The model was used to run to determine the affect of more network traffic and additional …

A Tabu Search Heuristic For Multi-Period Clustering To Rationalize Delivery Operations, Surya Sudha Khambhampati

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Delivery operations use centralized warehouses to serve geographically distributed customers. Resources (e.g. personnel, trucks, stock, and equipment) are scheduled from the warehouses to distributed locations with the aim of: (a) meeting customer demands and, (b) rationalizing delivery operation costs. My thesis investigates the problem of clustering customers based on their geographical vicinity and their multi-period demands, while optimally scheduling resources. The problem addresses with-and-without capacity constraints of vehicles at the warehouse. This problem is proven to be NP-Hard. Hence, solutions using state-of-the-art exact methods such as branch and bound are not pertinent due to the computation complexity involved. We develop …

A Stochastic Production Planning Model Under Uncertain Demand, Meenakshi Prajapati

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Production planning plays a vital role in the management of manufacturingfacilities. The problem is to determine the production loading plan consisting of the quantity of production and the workforce level - to fulfill a future demand. Although the deterministic version of the problem has been widely studied in the literature, the stochastic production planning problem has not. The application of production planning models could be limited if the stochastic nature of the problem, for example, uncertainty in future demand, is not addressed. This study addresses such a stochastic production planning problem under uncertain demand and its application in an enclosure …

Value Mapping Framework Involving Stakeholders For Supply Chain Improvement When Implementing Information Technology Projects, Karla Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Successful Supply Chain Management (SCM) depends on how well an organization performs internal and external communications with trading partners, executes the logistics component, and understands/monitors related costs of conducting its business. The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of today's complex supply chains. Increased communication technology has redefined how businesses work together, raised customer expectations, and placed new demands on supply chain performance. IT components with proven and rapid return-on-investment are favored to support critical supply chain processes such as leaner manufacturing processes, consumer-driven supply chains, and customer responsiveness. The use of IT …

Improving Business Performance Through The Integration Of Human Factors Engineering Into Organizations Using A Systems Engineeri, Monica Philippart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most organizations today understand the valuable contribution employees as people (rather than simply bodies) provide to their overall performance. Although efforts are made to make the most of the human in organizations, there is still much room for improvement. Focus in the reduction of employee injuries such as cumulative trauma disorders rose in the 80 s. Attempts at increasing performance by addressing employee satisfaction through various methods have also been ongoing for several years now. Knowledge Management is one of the most recent attempts at controlling and making the best use of employees knowledge. All of these efforts and more …

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Routing With Limited Risk, Siriwat Visoldilokpun

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Due to safety and uninhabitable surrounding environments, long range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become an increasingly popular option in both scientific and military applications. With troubling oil prices, a logistic planner requires an efficient method to identify an optimal routing solution. The solution should not only optimize the bottom line objective but must also control variations in an operation.We study the UAV routing problem with limited risk (URPR) in which the considered risk is a fuel burn variance caused by wind variation. The URPR determines the optimal route that minimizes total expected fuel burn to visit all assigned targets …

Performance Comparison Of Thermal Insulated Packaging Boxes, Bags And Refrigerants For Single-Parcel Shipments, S. P. Singh, Gary J. Burgess, Jay Singh

Industrial Technology and Packaging

A range of packaging solutions exists for products that must be kept within a specific temperature range throughout the supply-and-distribution chain. This report summarizes the results of studies conducted over a span of 2 years by the Consortium for Distribution Packaging at Michigan State University. Thermal insulation packaging materials such as expanded polystyrene, polyurethane, corrugated fibreboard, ThermalCor® and other composite packaging such as thermal insulating bags were studied. Phase change materials such as gel packs were also evaluated. Properties such as R-value, melting point and heat absorption were examined and are reported.

Predicting And Reducing Warranty Costs By Considering Customer Expectation And Product Performance, Naresh Kumar Sharma

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation develops from quality loss function to warranty loss function in which customer expectation is also considered to be a variable. First, Taguchi's quality loss function for the larger-the-better case, which is different from the smaller-the better and nominal-the-best cases, has been assimilated into the other two by introducing a term called the target-mean ratio. Further topics addressed include the implications of a finite target on the classification of LTB characteristics, a new concept of a "Complementary Characteristic", operating window, complexity, and SN ratio based on complexity. A warranty is a buyer's confidence owing to the seller's assurance to …

Applying Six Sigma Methodology To The Admissions Process In Higher Education, Alok Verma

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Time and quality are two important metrics for improving a company's production and profit performance. Six Sigma is one of the most powerful continuous improvement tools that have been used to improve the quality of products and business processes. Six Sigma methodology provides the techniques and tools to improve the capability and reduce the number of defects in any process. It was originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects. Although, originally developed for manufacturing processes, the tool has been effectively applied to improve business processes also. Evaluation of applications for admission in higher education is often …

The Oil Drilling Model And Iterative Deepening Genetic Annealing Algorithm For The Traveling Salesman Problem, Hoong Chuin Lau, Fei Xiao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this work, we liken the solving of combinatorial optimization problems under a prescribed computational budget as hunting for oil in an unexplored ground. Using this generic model, we instantiate an iterative deepening genetic annealing (IDGA) algorithm, which is a variant of memetic algorithms. Computational results on the traveling salesman problem show that IDGA is more effective than standard genetic algorithms or simulated annealing algorithms or a straightforward hybrid of them. Our model is readily applicable to solve other combinatorial optimization problems.